Difference between revisions of "Flame test"
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A simple, visual qualitative test for some inorganic elements that is sometimes hard to interpret. When vaporized, every element has a characteristic set of emission bands which produce colors in the visible range. Flame tests have been used for over 200 years to distinguish the metallic cations in salts, minerals, and metals. For the test, a particle, the size of a pin head or larger, is heated in a flame to incandescence and observed to determine its emission color. The following list provides some visible range emission flame colors with corresponding elements: | A simple, visual qualitative test for some inorganic elements that is sometimes hard to interpret. When vaporized, every element has a characteristic set of emission bands which produce colors in the visible range. Flame tests have been used for over 200 years to distinguish the metallic cations in salts, minerals, and metals. For the test, a particle, the size of a pin head or larger, is heated in a flame to incandescence and observed to determine its emission color. The following list provides some visible range emission flame colors with corresponding elements: | ||
| − | - Violet: [ | + | - Violet: [[potassium]], [[rubidium]], [[cesium]] |
| − | - Pale blue: [ | + | - Pale blue: [[lead]], [[arsenic]], [[selenium]] |
| − | - Blue-green: [ | + | - Blue-green: [[copper]] salts with halides |
- Green-blue: phosphates with sulfuric acid | - Green-blue: phosphates with sulfuric acid | ||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
- Emerald green: copper salts except halides | - Emerald green: copper salts except halides | ||
| − | - Weak green: [ | + | - Weak green: [[antimony]], ammonium |
| − | - White-green: [ | + | - White-green: [[zinc]] |
| − | - Yellow-green: [ | + | - Yellow-green: [[barium]] |
| − | - Carmine: [ | + | - Carmine: [[lithium]] |
| − | - Scarlet: [ | + | - Scarlet: [[strontium]] |
| − | - Yellow-red: [ | + | - Yellow-red: [[calcium]] |
| − | - Yellow: [ | + | - Yellow: [[sodium]] |
== Synonyms and Related Terms == | == Synonyms and Related Terms == | ||
Revision as of 11:38, 15 January 2014
Description
A simple, visual qualitative test for some inorganic elements that is sometimes hard to interpret. When vaporized, every element has a characteristic set of emission bands which produce colors in the visible range. Flame tests have been used for over 200 years to distinguish the metallic cations in salts, minerals, and metals. For the test, a particle, the size of a pin head or larger, is heated in a flame to incandescence and observed to determine its emission color. The following list provides some visible range emission flame colors with corresponding elements:
- Violet: Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium
- Pale blue: Lead, Arsenic, Selenium
- Blue-green: Copper salts with halides
- Green-blue: phosphates with sulfuric acid
- Emerald green: copper salts except halides
- Weak green: Antimony, ammonium
- White-green: Zinc
- Yellow-green: Barium
- Carmine: Lithium
- Scarlet: Strontium
- Yellow-red: Calcium
- Yellow: Sodium
Synonyms and Related Terms
Brennprobe (Deut.)
Authority
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971
- CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Robert Weast (ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, v. 61, 1980